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Iraqi athletes in Beijing
xinhua
Updated: 2008-08-23 17:30
22-year-old Iraqi Dina Hussein was allowed to the Games only eight days before the opening ceremony.
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Dina Hussein (front) touches a red lantern.[xinhua]
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Due to a lack of funds, she wore a pair of second hand shoes to compete in the Games. In an earlier interview, the runner revealed she had risked her life by crossing a battlefield to reach a market to buy them.
Twice, Hussein was nearly shot during her training for the Games. The IOC's previous ban on Iraqi athletes almost crushed the young girl. "I don't even know if I can survive till the London Games," reacted Hussein when her coach tried to comfort her telling her that she could still participate in the 2012 Games if she couldn't make it to the Beijing Games.
In tota,l only four Iraqi competitors came to the Games and the rest missed the registration deadline.